PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (DVD/16X9/WWS/2.35:1/1970/DELETED S/PHOTO G DVD

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
In Billy Wilder's cinematic homage to the spirit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, British stage luminary Robert Stephens plays Holmes, while Colin Blakely is his friend and chronicler Dr. Watson. This self-described "hitherto suppressed and thoroughly fascinating" tale concerns Holmes' search for a missing mining engineer -- a case that may have a far-reaching effect on the national security of England. Along the way, Holmes falls in love for the first time in his life, with enigmatic foreign beauty Gabrielle Valladon (Genevieve Page). In this 1970 film, Wilder emphasizes such then-current topics as homosexuality (notably during the film's prologue) and drug addiction. Christopher Lee, a former screen Holmes himself, has a cameo (minus toupee) as Sherlock's brother Mycroft Holmes. Heavily re-edited and rearranged both before and after its release, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes was a box-office disappointment when it came out in 1970. Since that time, its reputation has grown immeasurably, especially among those lucky enough to have seen a complete print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes Colin Blakely as Dr. John H. Watson Geneviève Page as Gabrielle Valladon Irene Handl as Mrs. Hudson Stanley Holloway as 1st Gravedigger Christopher Lee as Mycroft Holmes Tamara Toumanova as Petrova Clive Revill as Rogozhin George Benson as Inspector Lestrade Catherine Lacey as Old Lady Mollie Maureen as Queen Victoria Peter Madden as Von Tirpitz Robert Cawdron as Hotel Manager Michael Elwyn as Cassidy Michael Balfour as Cabby Frank Thornton as Porter Kenneth Benda as Minister Graham Armitage as Wiggins John Garrie as First Carter Godfrey James as 2d Carter

Crew Tony Inglis - Art Director David Blair - Choreography Julie Harris - Costume Designer Billy Wilder - Director Ernest Walter - Editor Miklos Rozsa - Composer (Music Score) Ernest Gasser - Makeup Alexandre Trauner - Production Designer Christopher G. Challis - Cinematographer Billy Wilder - Producer Harry Cordwell - Set Designer Cliff John Richardson - Special Effects Wally Veevers - Special Effects I.A.L. Diamond - Screenwriter Billy Wilder - Screenwriter Maurice Binder - Title Design

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Mellow and romantic, Billy Wilder's mutilated late masterwork is more an intimate portrait of Arthur Conan Doyle's famed coke-sniffing, violin-loving, super-rational detective than a straightforward mystery. Shooting elegantly in England, Wilder and longtime co-writer I.A.L. Diamond mine humor from Holmes's suspect sexuality and make plain his drug habit. As played by Robert Stephens, their Holmes is a figure of melancholy and regret. His impossible romance with a woman who is his intellectual match reveals the incompatibility between a life of reason and a life of feeling, yet the poignant end of their relationship renders emotionally palpable what Holmes has lost by being a great detective. Episodic in structure and originally intended to be over three hours long, Sherlock Holmes was drastically cut after a disastrous preview; most of the cut footage is presumed lost. One hour shorter, it was a failure in 1970, but its critical reputation has since flourished due to its visual beauty and fine performances from Stephens, Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson, and Genevieve Page as Holmes's love. The laser disc version contained 12 minutes of restored footage. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: cc "Christopher Lee: Mr. Holmes, Mr. Wilder" Featurette Interview with editor Ernest Walter Deleted sequences Photo gallery Original theatrical trailer English: Mono English, French & Spanish language subtitles DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 125 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Main Title/Boredom [8:22] 2. A Night at the Ballet [8:35] 3. Interesting Proposition [8:31] 4. Women and Men [7:54] 5. One Beautiful Amnesiac [8:50] 6. Jonah Ltd. [9:53] 7. 32 Ashdown Street [8:02] 8. A Brother's Warning [8:00] 9. Three Boxes [7:52] 10. Four Midgets [8:03] 11. The Right Castle? [6:58] 12. A Dip in the Loch [7:21] 13. The Red Runner [5:03] 14. "We Are Not Amused" [7:42] 15. Eternal Silence [6:33] 16. Ease the Pain/End Credits [7:27]